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Trinculo
In the Globe Theatre Company's production of The Tempest, Trinculo was played by Paul Chahidi.
About Paul Chahidi
This is Paul's second season at the Globe. Last season he played Angelo in The Comedy of Errors. Paul has appeared in productions for the Young Vic Theatre Company, Oxford Stage Company, Theatre Clwyd and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He has also spent a season with the RSC. Paul's film work includes the role of Gavin in Notting Hill.
Click on the numbered links to follow Paul's journey as he creates and plays the character of Trinculo in the Globe Theatre.
Paul Chahidi - Character Notes 1
These comments are the actor's thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process-they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.
The first day was a 'Meet and Greet', where everyone introduced themselves to each other. Mark Rylance (the Globe's Artistic Director) gave the dedication. He dedicated this season to the actors. He talked about the Globe as a space and the importance of language. We then went on a tour of the building and exhibition.
Mark explained that as actors, our primary goal is telling the story. We should have eloquence and a love of words. We can have playfulness but at the same time gravity-there can be a range of emotional qualities in our work. We just should not do anything that gets in the way of telling the story.
Lenka (Udovicki, director of The Tempest) told us what the play meant to her and presented general ideas about approaching the play. The next day we read through the play. [N.B. You can read Lenka's thoughts on The Tempest in the Directors Interviews section of the website.]
Nigel Osbourne (the composer for this production) spoke to us about the music for The Tempest. He wants to make use of Balkan themes. Lenka is from Serbia and one of the singers in the cast is from Kosovo.
There will be a Balkan theme to the costumes as well. Some of the costumes look like they're from the 17th century while others look like they are from the 1940s. There is a mixture of eras. My costume has big baggy trousers and what looks like a bandanna.
On Wednesday we started going through the text scene by scene, making sure people understood each line. We could ask specific questions about language or our characters.
I'd never read the play or seen it performed before my audition. In a way, I'm glad I've never seen it, because this way I have no images of past performances in my head. I'm basing my performance on the text instead of something I've seen in the past.
Trinculo is described as a jester. As such he has free reign to make comments about other people, to amuse and entertain. He's been shipwrecked-the social order he is accustomed to at court has been fractured. Trinculo doesn't know if the King is still alive, and the King is his raison d'être-his job is to perform for the court. Trinculo arrives on an island and doesn't know what will happen to him.
Trinculo is desperate to please and is not a natural leader. He's relieved that Stephano plays the role of leader. He's cowardly, too. He threatens to beat Caliban but he never does, he also needs an audience. Even when Trinculo is alone he talks to himself.
I'm trying not to worry about making people laugh. If you go into a part thinking, I have to be funny, you make your job very difficult. You won't simply try to be that character in that situation.
We've had a couple sessions with Tim (Carroll, Master of Verse for (The Tempest). We've looked at iambic pentameters, both regular and irregular lines. We've also read prose and seen how prose has its own rhythm and antitheses. We look for the key words-the character's main thought in each line. I've learned you can't linger on a particular line. You want to get to the end of the thought.
Exclamation marks didn't exist in Shakespeare's time. The end of the line is more important than the commas and the full stops. Those were added in later by editors.
We did some exercises with Tim where we walked as we said a line. We would change direction at the end of a line. Then we did the exercise again, changing direction at the end of each thought as we saw it. This exercise gives you a physical memory of the character's changing thoughts. I think it will help me when I am performing the lines on stage.
Activities for Students
You might like to think about some of the questions and issues that have been occupying Paul during the first week of rehearsal. Because the company has been reading the play during this first week, the activities this time are mostly theoretical in nature.
1) Try the verse exercise Paul described. Choose one of Trinculo's speeches from The Tempest and walk as you read it. First, change direction at the end of each line. Then try the exercise again and change direction at the end of each thought. Has this exercise helped you understand the pattern and meaning of Shakespeare's verse?
2)Paul talked about how exclamation marks did not exist in Shakespeare's time, and explained that the commas and full stops were added later by editors. Copy a few lines from The Tempest, removing the punctuation then try punctuating the lines in a way that you think best helps the actors and the audience to understand their meaning. Send your version of the lines to Paul explaining the reasons for your choices.
3) Trinculo is a comic character. Do you have any ideas of how Paul can be funny on stage as Trinculo? You might like to improvise some of Trinculo's scenes. Share with Paul some of Trinculo's lines you find particularly comic or suggest how he might interpret a line so that it is funny for a modern audience in the Globe.
Give reasons for all of your answers. Try to find evidence in the text to 'back up' your ideas.
Paul Chahidi - Character Notes 2
These comments are the actor's thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process-they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.
This week we’ve been getting up and doing some tentative blocking. Nothing is set in stone, as yet, and things can always be changed. We’ve been looking specifically at Trinculo's first scene, where he hides under a gabardine with Caliban. When Stephano enters, he mistakes them for a monster. The scene provides a welcome break from the previous intense action, the storm scene in particular. We’ve been trying to work out a vague shape for the scene. Jasper (Britton, Caliban) and I have been working on our own for much of the time. We’ve been working on the monster shape we form under the gabardine, trying to make it really monstrous so that Stephano looks generally frightened when he first sees it. We’re playing around with the forms and shapes that our body can make. We are also trying to make the moment funny, perhaps by changing the shape of the monster every time Stephano looks around. The challenge here is to maintain an unrecognisable shape and to avoid looking like two men under a coat.
I have also been thinking a lot about the reality of Trinculo's situation. Because he is one of the comic characters it is easier to keep the scenes believable and rooted in reality. When Trinculo arrives in this scene he is wet and exhausted. He takes the only chance of shelter he sees, and which he thinks he's safe. Trinculo hears Stephano come in and react in a terrified manner to what he sees, then suddenly the ‘dead body’ he is sharing the gabardine with begins to speak. Trinculo must be petrified at that moment. I have also been thinking about how the circumstances of finding himself marooned and alone on a desert island must have effected him.
I have also been thinking about how Trinculo would have been under normal circumstances. He is a jester and would therefore always be looking for some sort of audience. This can be seen when he first sees Caliban under the gabardine. He has been terrified and yet now we find him musing on the shape in front of him. He is also very much a follower, ‘sucking up’ to Stephano, he wants to be praised and to also have someone below him, which is perhaps why he treats Caliban in such a manner. So far I am just concentrating on the human side of my character. The humorous side will come. I have been thinking about Trinculo's fear and even putting him in other circumstances. For example, how might he react in a group under pressure.
The approach to the work this season is very different to last year. It could be said to be far more conventional. Last season the company played many exercises at the beginning of the rehearsal period that were unrelated to the text. This year we started by looking at the text in detail, and then moved directly into blocking. We’ve only improvised the scene twice, before putting it on its feet with the script.
Activities for Students
Monster Shapes
Paul and Jasper have been trying to work out a shape that they can make under the gabardine that will look like a monster. Draw the shape that you think they should make, and send it in to give them some ideas!
Marooned on a desert island
Paul has been thinking about the effects of being marooned on a desert island would have on Trinculo. What do you think is going on inside Trinculo's head after the shipwreck? Try improvising this scene. Write down your ideas or thoughts for Trinculo at this point and send them in to Paul.
Give reasons for all your answers. Try to find evidence in the text to support your ideas.
Paul Chahidi - Character Notes 3
These comments are the actor's thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process-they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.
We have just come back from Otley, where we spent the weekend rehearsing intensively. It was great to get out of London and have a change of scenery. But, what I felt was particularly valuable was the chance for the whole company to spend time together. If you think about The Tempest, you can see that all the scenes happen in isolation from each other, right through until the final scene. Each cast member works with a select group of people. So, until this weekend I hadn’t had a chance to get to know many people.
We’ve been going through the play very slowly. In fact, we’ve only just managed to get through the Act 5 now. That was very hard to do, as it's the only Act that involves everybody. I feel like we’re making slow, but steady progress.
Whilst we were in Otley, we had lots of different workshops that focused on specific areas of performance. We looked at movement, developing some of the ideas for the play – lots of leaping and maybe even a tango. We listened to the music for the masque and the tempest. We even made a recording of the music with the lines to use in rehearsal.
The most valuable part of our time away, for me, was an exercise that involved improvisation. We read through our scenes, and then went off to find a space outside to try out them out and improvise what happens in between. I felt that this allowed me to see how drunk Trinculo might have become by the beginning of the next scene. We were also able to explore what might have been said in between scenes.
I have also been thinking about another exercise that might be useful. We haven’t tried it yet, but I think I will suggest it to Lenka (Udovicki, director). All the people on the island are from the court of Naples. Obviously, what happens to them on the island affects them greatly. I would like to improvise the court before the shipwreck and the again after they all return home. I think that this would be very valuable in helping everyone to see exactly how their character changes whilst they are on the island.
I have also been thinking a lot about the nastier side of Trinculo. (I’m still hoping that the comedy will come by itself, later.) I’m looking at his cruelty and cowardice, and thinking about his shifting relationship with Stephano. In the first scene Trinculo is petrified. Then he latches onto Stephano and then Claiban comes along and takes his place. Trinculo then becomes cruel to Caliban to try and regain his position. However, as much as he insults Caliban, it always seems to be the alcohol that gives him the nerve to behave in this manner. We have decided that I shall insult Caliban and the run to the opposite side of the stage every time he moves. Like all cowards, I think that Trinculo thinks through every possibility of what could happen to him in any situation. He would love to be like Stephano talking to the monster, but he keeps thinking that he may end up losing an arm in the process. There is a lot of tension in Trinculo. He wants someone to oppress, but at the same time he is driven by fear – of losing status, of having no audience, of dying, of coming to harm, of being made a fool of. I think this is spelt out in him from beginning. I have been thinking about how he tries to overcome this fear. I think that he does it by putting other people down, by cracking jokes, and by talking.
I feel that this has been quite a rewarding week. We have finally been through everything at least once and I feel as though I have a much better understanding of Trinculo.
Activities for Students
What happens in between scenes?
In Otley Paul improvised what happens to the characters in between scenes – in other words, what happens to them when they are not on stage. Look at the end of Act 2 scene 2 and the beginning of Act 3 scene 2. Improvise what happens to Stephano, Trinculo and Caliban in between these scenes.
Paragraph 5
Look at the improvisation Paul suggests in paragraph 5. Try these improvisations for yourself. What happened in you improvisation? Send your discoveries in to Paul.
Trinculo, the bully
Paul feels that Trinculo is a bully and insults Caliban in order to impress Stephano. How would Trinculo speak to Caliban? Take one of Trinculo's lines from the beginning of Act 3 scene 2. Experiment saying this line in a friendly way and in a threatening way. How does your voice change? Can you find other lines where Trinculo insults Caliban? Record yourself saying these lines and send them in to Paul.
Give reasons for all you answers. Try to find evidence in the text to support your ideas.
Paul Chahidi - Accident
Actor Paul Chahidi, a Globe Company member over the last two years, had an accident during the final dress rehearsal of THE TEMPEST, in which he plays Trinculo.
Paul was rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed with a dislocated ankle and underwent an operation that night. It was later found that he also had a break in the ankle, which will confine him to full plaster, walking on crutches for six weeks followed by a further two weeks on sticks and a course of physiotherapy. He rested at St Thomas’ hospital over the weekend and was discharged on Tuesday at 5pm. He is now recovering at home.
Paul's part was played for the first three nights by the Globe Artistic Director Mark Rylance and will be taken over for the rest of the season by Steven Alvey, a member of the 1996 company and a regular actor on Channel 4's sitcom BEAST.
Paul will be rejoining the company for THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN.
Paul Chahidi - Comeback
These comments are the actor's thoughts and ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal and performance process – they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the process progresses.
Firstly I must say thank you to all the people who sent me such wonderful cards. They really were a terrific help.
I am very excited and happy to be back, but at the same time it is very strange. Just before my accident I was working at The Globe six days a week for 10 or 11 hours a day. Suddenly not being here at all was quite a shock and it took me a long time to adjust. The full force of the accident didn’t hit me until I got home from hospital. I felt very frustrated at not being able to do anything. My mind was active but the pain from the injury stopped me from doing anything. I was forced to take it easy and slowly. It took me about a month to really relax and to realise that I wasn’t going to be in The Tempest. Eventually all my friends started to come around and see me, which made me feel a whole lot better.
I did go and see the press night of The Tempest. I hadn’t been to The Globe for a couple of weeks. I was very nervous about seeing the show. I thought it might depress me. Somebody must have tipped everybody off that I was coming, as the cast were there to welcome me. Seeing the show wasn’t depressing at all. Sometimes it felt a bit like standing outside of myself. I was seeing for the first time what the moves that I had developed looked like. It was a good experience. I was very aware of what worked and what I thought should change. I went to the party after the performance and was able to talk to everyone.
Now I’m at The Globe rehearsing for The Two Noble Kinsmen by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare. I am playing the Wooer and having a fantastic time. It's nice to ease back into things as the part isn’t too demanding. I started rehearsal with my leg still in plaster and had to spend some of the time in a wheelchair. It's really good to start acting again. It wasn’t always set in stone that I would come back for The Two Noble Kinsmen, as I wasn’t sure how I would be feeling and whether I would be fit enough. But I have to say that it was a really good decision. It's great to be back with the cast. The Wooer is a great part, but it isn’t too big so there's not too much pressure on me. I have one big speech and a few other scenes.
My part in The Two Noble Kinsmen is mainly in the section of the play written by John Fletcher. It is very intimate and informal. A lot of the text is in prose. I want to see if we can keep this intimacy on the Globe stage which is very big. My scenes are not openly comic, which they were when I was playing Trinculo. The humour is more ‘dead-pan’.
Paul Chahidi - Update
As you are all aware, Paul Chahidi broke his ankle just before The Tempest opened. Obviously he has been unable to take part in the show, which after all the hard work he has done, is terribly disappointing for him. However, we now know that he will be back to perform in The Two Noble Kinsmen. We still have notes from Paul to release to you from before the accident, so you won’t be losing out. There will also be forthcoming comments from him explaining his disappointment and telling us his views of the show when he saw it as an audience member.
If you do feel that you need more information about The Tempest, feel free to look at the other adopted actor's notes. You may find Kananu Kirimi, who plays Miranda, particularly helpful.
Paul would like to thank you all for the cards and good wishes that you sent to him.